Apple faced some trouble early on when it came to the cameras included on their products. Either they weren’t powerful enough or they weren’t facing the right direction; in short, they simply didn’t meet the needs of the average user in some way. Apple has since improved on every point, and with additions like gyroscopes and retinal displays they’ve taken digital photography on their mobile devices to the next level. But to some degree, the camera is only as strong as the applications made to go with it. And let’s be honest: even the Adobe Photoshop app is kind of old hat at this point. While Instagram and other photo sharing options have become quite popular, still there were plenty of people holding their breath for something better. And the aptly titled Camera Awesome app could be just what iPhone-toting picture lovers have waited for.

At this point the app is still relatively new (although it was created by SmugMug, a photo sharing site that has been around for a decade). And with a in-app purchases of $9.99 attached to it for all the bells and whistles (filters and presets, which can also be purchased piecemeal at 99 cents a pop), it’s not surprising that the masses have yet to jump on the bandwagon. But with reviews ranging from “I love it” to “this one is by FAR the best camera app out there” to “the abilities are endless”, you can see that users are impressed. So what makes this photo application better than the rest? Here are a few things you’ll enjoy.

The main appeal of this awesome app is that it makes you a better photographer. The average person behind the camera has no training in the tenets of artistic composition. You might not even know what “composition” entails. But it doesn’t matter when you have Camera Awesome on your side. Every time you go to take a photo, you have access to a tool that helps to correct your composition so that every shot looks like it was taken by a pro. It can select the main focus, put the horizon in the proper place, break your field into thirds, show you the golden ratio, and more. But the fun really starts after you’ve snapped your pics.

You can do all the regular editing stuff, like cropping and centering photos, sharpening the image, and so on, as well as view side-by-side comparisons of the original and the version with applied effects. But from there you can select presets and filters with a slew of cool names to add to the artistic appeal of your photos. For example, the “Hoth” filter will give a photo the blown-out white-wash of the ice planet from Star Wars. And “Roman Holiday” will apply the sepia tones that put you in mind of old-school vacation pics. You can also add text. But the application doesn’t stop there; once you’ve got your pictures perfect, it’s time to share them. With 1-tap sharing on Facebook and options to post to sites like Photobucket, Flickr, Instagram, and of course, SmugMug (amongst others) you’ll have no trouble sending your incredible pics to everyone you know. So start the digital fireworks (or snap photos of some actual fireworks) with this amazing camera app..

Editor’s Note

Thanks to Evan Fischer for this guest post. He is a freelance writer and part-time student at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, California.